How does Santa do it? He delivers gifts to the worlds 6 billion people, everyone gets what they want. It goes with out saying Santa has a plan and a method. We can learn a lot from the big guy, and these ideas transfer well your personal finances. Check out Santa’s does and don’ts as(…)
Cash Flow
Financial Success Starts with managing your cash flow. We’ve all heard you must “spend less than you make”, but many of us do not. When you make good financial decisions on you spend today you can accumulate something for the future.
Opportunities Coming
On Monday we held an event with Trades and training expert Finbar O’Sullivan looking at career opportunities in northern BC and Alberta for trades. Finbar said Job Opportunities are still out there even as much of Northern Alberta has been laying off and apprentices are coming back to Okanagan waiting for a new round of(…)
Joint vs Individual Accounts
Managing spending is the key to making a family budget work. If you spend more than you make it is impossible to get ahead. One of the long time arguments the benefits of separate and joint bank accounts. For many couples the issue is one of control by one person one over the other, rather than(…)
The R-Word Again!
You think things have changed. We live in a more open society. The last time we heard it we vowed it would never be said again. But the R word is rearing it’s ugly head in Canada again. The R word I am referring to is Recession, this according to an article/video from Global TV(…)
Laid Off … Protect Yourself
If your job is in Northern Alberta you may not be called back for the foreseeable future. Most of the large employers are laying off, changing schedules and/or cutting hours to save money while price of barrel is south of 5o dollars. We’ve all seen this before. This uncertainty is now having a direct impact on families(…)
Home Buyer Financial Makeover
So you’ve decide to leave the world of being a renter to become a home owner. The Okanagan Real Estate Market is heating up in Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton, interest rates are relatively low and people are flocking from Northern Alberta/British Columbia in record numbers. Now seems like a great time to be a home(…)
Retirement Income – Not All Income is Created Equal 2/3
When planning for retirement, not all income is created equal. Some income is guaranteed some is not. Some income is flexible some is less flexible. The key to creating a balanced income in retirement is to diversify your financial assets and income streams. This is the focus of the second part of my series on Retirement Income(…)
Retirement Income – How much is Enough Part 1/3
The image of retirement is one of luxury vacations, golfing with your friends 3 days a week and spending time with/and spoiling the grand children. The reality for many is pinching pennies, limited travel and maybe dinner out once a month. Many baby boomer’s are finding the costs of their lifestyle are too much to(…)
Mortgage Renewal Time
It comes in the mail to thousands of Canadian’s everyday … a mortgage renewal from their bank and according to CMHC more than 60 % of renewals are signed and sent in. Many home owners pay 1,000 of dollars too much for their mortgages because they don’t review their current needs before they renew. Here(…)
Budgeting Part 1
Lets face it. It is so much easier to spend than save. We live in a spending culture. We work, we spend, we work, we spend … such is the way we live our lives in North America. Spending is like a disease … if left untreated the credit card bills start to grow. Does this(…)